Believing In Lies
by Fire's Ashes
Summary: "After an accident Zuko somehow loses his memories and the Avatar and his friends find him injured and confused... and from there on, one lie just turns into another. But will it end up backfiring on them?" Rated T. Zutara! Slight AU.
1. Prologue

A/N: Hey everyone. It's good to actually be able to publish my first story! After asking some other authors for their opinion on the idea, I have decided to go ahead and publish this story in progress. They all gave me some amazing ideas and opinions; so all I can really say is: "Thank you!" All of their names are below:

LadyBuhg, kataang21, appa-appa-away and PearLynn!

I would also like to say a huge "thank you" to my Beta Reader, xxfallenangelmayxx for helping me with this chapter, (the prologue). She also gave me some great ideas and really helped improve this chapter.

Fire. 火

火-水-土-空-闪

Summary: "After an accident Zuko somehow loses his memories and the Avatar and his friends find him injured and confused... and from there on, one lie just turns into another. But will it end up backfiring on them?" Rated T. Zutara! Slight AU.

Rated: T.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything from Avatar: the Last Airbender, (the Legend of Aang). It all belongs to the original owners and I make no profit from writing this fanfic.

Okay, well as always, I hope you enjoy the Prologue. :)

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"Believing In Lies"  
Author: "Fire's Ashes"

Prologue:  
"Just a Nightmare?"

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"Do I really have to repeat myself?!" Sokka asked once again; waving his arms around like a confused idiot. Katara just rolled her eyes at her brother's defiance to help; she was not in the mood for him. Aang however, just ignored him. Sokka continued with his verbal outcry against what they were about to do. "This thing here is our enemy," Sokka continued, now pointing at the unconscious body of the Prince of the Fire Nation; "He is a Firebender and guess what? WE DO NOT HELP FIRE BENDERS!" He shouted, still pointing over dramatically at the Firebender that lay on the ground next to him.

"Sokka!" Katara finally snapped. This caused him to stop shouting and look up at his younger sister. She had really had enough of him going on about this whole situation. "We are just trying to find out if he's still alive that's all, nothing more. I agree with you: he's our enemy, but that doesn't mean you have to keep going on about it. I am not in the mood and you're really starting to give me a headache! If you don't like it go back to the campsite."

After she had finished Katara just turned away from her shocked older brother and back to the injured Prince. In all truth there were plenty more things she would rather be doing right now, but Aang had insisted that they should help him and even though Katara really didn't want too, she had given in to Aang's persistence. She didn't understand why Aang wanted to help the teen who had had been chasing them for the last six months or so. But she knew Aang had his reasons and she trusted him greatly. So, she decided it would be best just to go along with it. It's not like they were going to help him any more than they already were, right? Well, she hoped not. For their sake.

"Katara...?" She looked up at Aang to see what he wanted.

"You okay, Aang?" She asked after he didn't continue.

"He's hurt pretty bad..." Aang simply said, looking at her. Katara just sighed and looked away from him. She never really did understand why Zuko chased them the way he did. Right from day one all he had tried to do was get his hands on Aang and give him back over to the Fire Nation. But why would he do something so cruel? Handing over the world's last hope over to the Fire Nation was pretty low, even for Zuko. Well was it? She hardly knew him... Katara remembered when she had been tied to the tree and he had said something about 'regaining his honour', she knew honour was really important in the Fire Nation, but what Zuko was doing was taking it too far. There must have been more to it than she knew. Maybe she wasn't even supposed to know... But for some reason, she wanted to find out his reasons; to maybe even understand them... Maybe even- Her brother intruded her thoughts, there was no surpise in this for her, she sighed, but listened to her brother anyway. Crossing her arms over her chest; still a little annoyed however.

"I have an idea..." They both looked up at Sokka.

"What? Aang asked.

"We leave him here! Great everyone's agreed? Okay then, let's go!" Sokka stared to walk away, but when he realized the other two weren't following him he turned back around, a puzzle look was on his face. He walked back up to them, waiting for at least one of them to explain their actions.

"Sokka..." Aang stood up and walked over to his friend. "Have you heard the story of the Spirits of the Sun and the Moon?" Sokka shook his head, and even Katara had looked up now, interested in what Aang was saying.

"No...We haven't." Katara stated, wanting for Aang to continue.

"Well, as the Avatar, I already know it... so, if I tell you Sokka, you have to promise me you'll understand why we have to do this." Sokka rolled his eyes, but he stopped when he saw his sister's glare and Sokka forced himself to listen. Aang sighed, but told them anyway. He knew he wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but at that moment in time he knew it was the only way to make Sokka understand why they needed to help their enemy.

"Go on Aang... tell us." Katara smiled at him. Aang didn't smile back, but he still got himself ready to tell them his burdens.

Aang looked down at Zuko, sadness was now covering his grey eyes. "The Sun and Moon Spirits are one, whether we like it or not. They are husband and wife. Lovers. Warmth and cold... Yin and Yang. As Avatar I have to stop this war, because when I was a child they gave me this... vision. I wasn't sure what it meant back then, but now I understand what they wanted me to see. They told me I had to stop this war... no matter what, because every day that this war continues, the more the spirits that are meant to be together are coming apart. When they finally reach a point where they can't see each other anymore, they will become angry, so very angry... and they will let the Nations fall apart... And the world will come to an end."

The two siblings just looked at each other, shocked was on both of their faces. But Katara decided it was best to break the awful silence that had now consumed the air around them. She was still in shock as she spoke, but continued none the less.

"Wow... they just gave this message, to you alone?" Katara asked, she was looking down at Zuko now.

"Yeah, quite a burden, huh?" He said, shrugging his shoulders. "Sometimes, I have nightmares showing me the same visions, but they hardly happen now. They are becoming further apart; they're weaker, but their love is still strong enough to hold on for a little bit longer... for us. They loves us, they love each other; there is no end to this love, neither for or them and they care about us. But, as Roku said, if I don't defeat the Fire Lord by the end of the comet, the spirits will destroy the bridge to the Spirit World, and I will have no way to communicate with them. They will destroy everything and it will be all my fault!" Aang fell to his knees and he finally let the tears fall from his eyes.

This horrible burden was starting to get to him; he hadn't thought about it in years. There was nothing he could do to stop it. Not at that moment anyway. But Aang just finally looked back up at Sokka, whose face wasn't the same as it was before Aang had told his story. He actually looked quite sympathetic for the young Airbender.

"Sorry Aang," He said simply.

"Do you understand now?" Sokka just nodded at his friend. "We need to help him, because it might be the only way of stopping this war without having to wait until the comet... It might save a lot of lives too..." Aang looked over at Katara. "I'm desperate, Katara." The tears were still running down his face. Katara walked up to Aang and pulled him close.

"We know Aang, and if you think helping... Zuko is going to help you, then we're going to help Zuko. Right Sokka?" Sokka finally gave in.

"Yeah, sure Aang, whatever helps you..." Aang finally put a smile on his young face.

"Thanks guys. I knew you'd understand." Sokka put one his hands on one of Aang's shoulders and Katara held one of his hands.

"We're here for you when you need us." Aang smiled at both of them.

After Aang had gotten himself together, Katara got up and walked back over to Zuko. Sokka had already checked to see if he had a pulse, and he had found a very faint one in his neck.

As Katara looked closer, she started to noticed how bad his injures actually were... Burns covered most of his torso and stomach, his armor had been torn open, he was soaked through and his breathing was labored. Katara also noticed that his once neat ponytail now roughly covered his scared face. In addition, Katara could tell just by looking at him that he was suffering from a very high fever. If he didn't get help soon... she knew he was going to die.

_Who in their right mind would be __insane enough to ever do this to you? _Katara asked herself, more confused than ever. It didn't make any sense. The Fire Lord would kill anyone for hurting his own son, wouldn't he?

"Let's get him back to the campsite... It's closer to the river and I can heal him quicker... But we might be too late." Katara said, in a serious tone.

"Katara, we can't take him back to the campsite!" Sokka seemed worried about something.

"Why not! If we're going to help him we need to-"

"Dad and the rest of the men are back at the campsite!" Katara's eyes went wide. She had forgotten about her father. They all had. Her father and some of him men had found them on the coast. Delighted to see him again, the siblings had invited him back to their campsite to rest and to catch up; however, this had happened way before Aang had found Zuko's unconscious body. Now their father might be starting to wonder where they were. Aang had only gone out to get some fire wood; he had come back empty handed asking both the Water tribe siblings to come and look at something important. They never expected it to be a nearly half dead Prince. A simple thing had now been turned into a nightmare, but their father didn't know about it and they had been gone for almost an hour by now.

"What are we going to do?" Aang asked.

"We need to hurry!" Katara ordered, "he's still losing blood and we don't know how much he's already lost, besides-" Katara trailed off, but Sokka didn't really care about that at the moment, he was more worried about what their dad was going think.

"Alright, alright... let me think, let me think!" Sokka tried to sound as calm as possible. "Maybe if we explain Aang's story to dad, he might understand then..."

"No Sokka, that won't work..." Aang told him straight.

"Why not?" A confused look formed across his face. He thought it was a brilliant idea.

"I wasn't even supposed to tell you guys, let alone others... It won't work, just trust me." Sokka sighed and started to think again and soon came up with something possible.

"We'll take him to the river, Katara will look after him and Aang and I will stall dad and the others." Katara didn't look too pleased about the idea but was willing to go ahead with it. Aang also agreed that it was the best plan that they had going and they didn't have time to come up with a masterpiece.

"You're going to have to help me get him to the river though, I can't carry him there with all that armor he's got on." Katara told them both.

"Katara's right." Aang confessed. "That armor weights almost as much as Sokka does alone; maybe even more."

"Hey! That's not fair Aang, I have lost weight." Sokka protested, but they weren't falling for it.

"Come on Sokka, we have to get Zuko to the river! Otherwise he's going to die." Aang whispered lowly.

With that over Sokka and Aang both carried Zuko in the direction of the river, but it was proving to be more difficult than they first imagined. The armor that he wore was extremely heavy and because of the damage that had been caused to it, they couldn't remove it. The metal of the armour was damaged and one wrong move could cause it cut into Zuko.

"I wonder what happed to him; I mean, these type of injuries don't come from an Earth bender." Aang said. "And where's his uncle?"

"Looks like it was someone from the Fire Nation... or his ship might have caught fire and Aang's right, Zuko's uncle wouldn't of left him like this. Anyway, why would the Fire Nation try to kill their own Prince? It doesn't make any sense." Sokka shrugged at his own question after getting no answer from the others. "Plus, maybe his uncle went for help or maybe he just didn't make it... Either way, it doesn't matter. We just need to get Prince 'almighty' here to the river." Sokka told them. Katara tried het best not to giggle at the comment Sokka had just made. But Katara had to admit "Prince almighty" was quite a good nickname from him, it suited him...

"But who would do this to-?" Aang tried to ask the same question Sokka had just tried too. But failed due to the fact that Sokka stopped him in his tracks.

"I don't know Aang," Sokka interpreted him. "Maybe we should ask him when he wakes up. Assuming that he ever wakes up." Sokka was being to struggle under the weight. "Man he's heavy!" Sokka protested.

"Aww, I thought you were stronger than that, Sokka." Katara smirked, running up next to Aang, trying to help them; they needed to hurry up!

"I am, but have you ever tried to carry someone in full Fire Nation armor? I mean if you told me this morning that I would be carrying the Prince of the Fire Nation through the forest in the middle of the night trying to help him, I would have laughed at you and promised you both that I would quit eating meat for a whole week!" He was starting to get annoyed. "But it's actually happening... and I don't like it! Well…on the other hand this could be a huge nightmare and I'm going to wake up any minute." Sokka smiled at the thought.

"I doubt that Sokka." Aang told him.

"Why?!"

Aang was trying not to laugh at his words as he said them, "Because this is all real." He sniggered through his words.

"Shut up Aang, please... I CAN DREAM CAN'T I?!" Aang began to laugh at the older sibling's response.

Somehow Sokka seemed to ignore his Airbender friend. He looked at Katara. "How much further to the river? My arms are killing me!" He asked.

"Do you ever stop complaining?" Katara just rolled her eyes at her brother. "Yes, we're nearly there. I can see it now." Katara pointed just in front of them.

"Finally!" Sokka shouted.

"Shh! You idiot! Do you want your dad to hear us?! This forest isn't big enough to contain your loud voice." Aang told him in a hushed tone.

Sokka just gave him a glare. "You know when I put this thing down on the ground I am going to hurt you for saying that." Sokka threatened.

"That _thing _is Prince Zuko! Do you want your father to see you helping him?"

"Fine! But this isn't over!" Aang just walked the rest of the way with a victorious look plastered on his young face. He had won the battle, but he still had to win the war...

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"Zhao..." Iroh began. Sadness reigned in his voice, but so did anger. "How could you do this? Was this all done because you wanted to get your own way? Oh may the Fire Spirit have mercy on you, Zhao for what you have done!" Iroh shouted. Jee put a hand on one of his shoulder, he understood what he was going through, but never before had any of the soldiers in the room seen the retired General so angry and upset. Even Jee, who was there with him when his son died. Iroh had spared the man who had killed his son, but he didn't think the same for the man who had killed his nephew; however, today the Lieutenant was wrong.

Zhao couldn't be killed. Not today, because there was something in Iroh's heart that was telling him that his young nephew was alive. Maybe it was the great Fire Spirit Herself. Or maybe it was just Iroh and his old age wisdom.

Either way Iroh knew he had to find Zuko. If he was dead he wanted to give him a proper burial in the Fire Nation; even the Fire Lord wouldn't turn that away. But if he was alive he wanted to tell him how much he loved him... and that he was so sorry for what had happened. He was his nephew; but to him personally he was his second son.

_I will find you Zuko, because I'm not losing two __sons in this__ war. Even if the Fire Spirit is my witness. I will find you. I promise you that; even if She kills me doing so. _

_I will find you._

With that, Iroh left with Jee and his men. He didn't say another word, leaving Zhao all alone to think about what he had done. He could deny it, say it wasn't him, but Iroh knew better. No matter how old he got, there was no fooling the retired General. Even though he didn't show it, Zhao was starting to become... slightly annoyed with this whole situation.

Zhao had firstly ignored Iroh's whole... episode. Well had tried to at least, but he knew that if he found Zuko alive there would be trouble... for him at least. If the Avatar and other Nations did end up winning this war and either Zuko or Iroh became Fire Lord, it would be the end for him. He just knew it. There was nothing they could do now of course; however, they might in the future. Zhao had to make sure they were both dealt with. He was going to have to kill them... both of them. Or maybe he would just have to kill one of them... You never know, do you?

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A/N: Prologue finished. Sorry that it's short! Chapter one will be much longer. Well you will tell me what you think, won't you? But please bear in mind that this is my first story. I don't mind dislikes and criticisms. However, I do mind unnecessary reviews that have nothing to do with the story. But, I'm sure no of you will do that... Well, I hope you enjoyed the prologue (chapter). Chapter one should be up soon and by the way... thanks for reading! :D

So, until next time guys... Night!

Fire. 火 :)


	2. Chapter 1: The Spirit Of War

A/N: Chapter one, anyone? Ha-ha. Sorry that it's a bit over-due. No one's fault but mine. I would like to start of once again by saying thank you to everyone who reviewed, faved and followed. It really keeps me going! Plus, here's another thank you to my Beta Reader, xxfallenangelmayxx. She's a great help! :)

Well, with that said, I hope you enjoy chapter one.

Fire. 火

火-水-土-空-闪

Summary: "After an accident Zuko somehow loses his memories and the Avatar and his friends find him injured and confused... and from then on, one lie just turns into another. But will it end up backfiring on them? Rated T, Zutara! Slight AU.

Rated: T.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything from Avatar: the Last Airbender, (the Legend of Aang). It all belongs to the original owners and I make no profit from writing this fanfic.

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"Believing In Lies"  
Author: "Fire's Ashes"

Chapter One:  
"The Prince is..."

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They had finally managed to get Zuko all the way to the river and both Aang and Sokka were exhausted. It had taken them over half an hour to get him to the riverside and because of this, Katara was starting to get worried. He had been left long enough without proper treatment and even she didn't know if she would be able to heal him enough in time.

So, she told both of the boys to head back to the campsite to let their dad know that they were all alright and that she would be heading back soon. But they were going to have to think of the excuses themselves because she was too tired to do it, and she really had a lot to do in a short space of time. She had to heal a dying Prince for starters and she had no idea where that was going to go. In the end, she decided it would be best if she started with his fever and the wounds that were bleeding the most. She would have to bandage them up later because she would have to work fast if she was going to save him.

With them gone, Katara started to work on Zuko's incredibly high fever.

She lifted some water out of the river and moved it onto Zuko's forehead. The water was already cool and she was grateful for this, but when nothing happened, Katara sighed in annoyance. She tried again and when nothing happened, she looked down at her hands, getting more angry with herself for not be able to get it right. Katara had already convinced herself by that point that she was a good healer and that she could at least bring a fever down; however, what she had never considered is that Firebenders suffer from worse fevers than anyone else, and that a fever was very fatal to a Firebender. She would have to cool his body before she could bring down the temperature around the areas that the fever was attacking the most: The head and neck.

After another fifteen minutes with no results, she decided that maybe she should have a go at cleaning some of his deeper wound, but most of them were covered over by burns and scaring which was making it harder for Katara to be able to see them. Katara took her chances and put some of the water over an area that she thought was right, due to the fact that the dried blood was its thickest around that same area, and it covered a large area of his stomach. To her surprise the water started to glow; a few seconds later the light around her hands and the wound faded away, so she used this as a signal to lift her hands off of Zuko's stomach. After doing so, she discovered that the wound wasn't weeping as much as it had before and a large portion of it had closed up. She was delighted with herself at that point. She was one step closer to saving someone's life... the Prince of the Fire Nation's life, but to her at that point in time, it was a life she was saving and nothing else mattered. Maybe it was all going to her head, maybe she had forgotten that the teenager she was healing was her greatest enemy.

_Maybe I'm a traitor._ She shook her head violently at the thought. No she wasn't! She was proud to be part of the Water Nation, and besides, the Avatar had asked her to do it, so to Katara this meant only one thing. She was doing this for a good cause, Aang's cause. And that was the end of it.

She wasn't a traitor! Not to anyone... not to anyone but herself.

After the horrible thought had left her worried mind, Katara smiled down at her work. Now that she had a lot more confidence in herself, she carried on, trying her best to heal the troubled teenager, but even if she did manage to heal all of the wounds, she still had to get his fever down. Katara thought it would be a good idea to check Zuko's back. If there was anything too serious, it might be the reason that his fever wasn't going down properly. So, she breathed in and got ready for what she was about to be faced with. Katara turned the Prince over, and looked at his back.

There was nothing there but more burns. Katara just sighed, but to her better judgment, she still decided it was a good idea to cool that part of his body down too before going back to anything else. His back was the core part of his body and if she didn't cool the core down first, she would never get anything else right. Besides, she had already taken care of his front; Katara had cleaned all the open cuts and taken down the temperature of his burns. Now she had to do the same again; she just prayed that she had done enough and that there was enough time left to bring down the main fever before it killed him.

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"I swear we've been walking for hours!" Sokka groaned, but after he got no response, he looked up from the ground and in Aang's direction. "Aang, what's the matter?" He asked.

"Nothing..."

"Aang. I'm not stupid, you know."

"You sure?" He half joked, but it sounded more like a growled response. He didn't even smile. This was how Sokka knew there was something wrong... Aang always laughed after making fun of Sokka. Joke or not.

"Whoa! You-"

"Sokka just be quite!" Aang suddenly snapped.

"Aang! What's the matter with you? You haven't talked since we left the river, but when you finally do talk, you end up snapping my head off!" Aang knew he was right and just let out a nervous sigh. He didn't want to worry Sokka more; he had already told him something he shouldn't have and even though he knew it would make him feel so much better, Aang knew it would be better if he kept it to himself... just for the time being at least.

So, he forced a smile and apologized to Sokka before telling him not to worry. He knew he wasn't convinced by his smile or his innocent sounding voice, but he let the silence consume the air once again. They both just kept walking, and neither of them talked for a while...

... "Aang, stop. I need to sit down for a minute." Without waiting for Aang's response, Sokka sat down on a near by broken log. He was just out of breathe, that's all.

"Sokka, it's nearly dawn."

"I know, but, we've been walking for over an hour! I'm tired." He reasoned.

"So am I, but we can rest when we get back to camp." Sokka just shook his head.

"No Aang, I might be tired and we can't sit here all day, but we are not leaving this spot until you tell me what's the matter with you!" Sokka pointed at the ground, making his point clear. They were not leaving that spot.

Aang rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter!"

"Well there's something wrong with you. I know that."

Aang finally gave in, sitting next to Sokka on the log.

"So... you going to tell me now?" He just nodded at Sokka's question and took a deep breath. He shouldn't, and he knew this. He was messing with the Spirits' will and Aang knew that the only reason he was getting away with it was because he was the Avatar. If anyone else ever tried they would live a life of misfortune and pain. It hurt him to know he was the only one that could get away with questioning the Spirits' decisions and that anyone else would never be able to enter the Spirit World freely.

... And he was just about to do it again.

"I-I..." He tried, but he couldn't get the words to come out of his mouth. "I... can't." He lowered his head in shame.

"Why not?"

"I just can't do it."

"This isn't like you... and yes, I'm not good at these kind of things. Maybe you will be able to tell Katara?" Aang nodded.

"Sorry." Sokka didn't mind. He just wanted to have some rest.

"Fine, Aang... It's fine, really. But try to put a smile on your face. I don't want Katara to be mad at me for making you upset." This brought a smile to Aang's face.

"Okay," He laughed slightly. "I will."

"Good, come on then." Sokka finally got up and started to walk away. Aang now knew that he was in one of his famous moods. Aang just rolled his eyes once again and followed the older teenager the rest of the way.

They arrived back at the camp just before dawn. Just in time, because no one seemed to have woken up yet, so they both took the opportunity to get some sleep. They would have to do a lot of explaining when they got up; they had not even thought about what they were going to say, or how they were ever going to explain the whole situation.

But Sokka may have to do it alone, because unknown to everyone, Aang would be in a whole different world...

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"Avatar Aang, you have to wake up now! Come on...wake up!" Aang's eyes shot open at the sound of the male voice. He quickly sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Avatar! Finally..." The man was now standingover him, wearing full Fire Nation armor. It matched the three colors that they had always used. Gold, red and black, the three main colors of the Fire Nation. So recognizable...and so beautiful.

"Who are you?" Aang finally asked, after taking the man's helping hand. Aang hadn't realized he was a Spirit; he just looked like any normal human. Aang could see him, his pale skin, dark hair and golden eyes... the colors of his armor. He could see how tall he was too and normally with Spirits you couldn't... Aang had learned that when he had first entered the Spirit world by accident on the Winter Solstice.

"Don't you remember me?" Aang shook his head. "I'm the Spirit of War. The first born of the Sun and Moon Spirits. We met in some of your first visions."

"I barely remember. I know the visions were strong back then, but I was too young to recognize anyone and the visions are too weak now for me to see anything... sorry." The Spirit smiled at the young Avatar.

"You have nothing to be sorry for young one; however, we do not have a lot of time so you need to listen, do you understand?" The Avatar nodded.

"Follow me." The Spirit turned and walked away, expecting the Avatar to follow.

As Aang followed, he looked around. He was struck with awe at the amazing scenery; his mouth half agape. "Wow" He whispered quietly to himself. He had never been so amazed by anything in all his young life. "Wow" He repeated.

"...Avatar?" Aang was pulled out of his trace by the male Spirit's voice.

"Yes...?"

"Listen and listen well and take everything in. This is very important." Aang nodded once again.

"Many years before your birth, my mother and father gave me the task of looking over you; protecting you. I knew there would be a war even before Sozin's first judgment. I knew this war would scale out of control and I knew that even though I was the Spirit of War, I knew that there was no way I could stop it...and this- this saddened me for many generations." He sighed sadly, but continued none the less. "Young one... when you ran away, know that this was my influence on you and you did well to listen to my will; however, when your people were killed, I felt for you because you had no idea. I'm sorry Aang. For you, the Avatar to live, I had to let your people die. I had no choice in this and I am truly sorry for that. My mother, father and I grow weaker as this war rages on...and even though your people's deaths happened at the start of the war, the knowledge of this war made us weaker and we didn't even realize it. Not until it was too late." He stopped, looking at Aang with sympathetic eyes.

"You... you knew about everything that was going to happen to me? You knew?!"

"I can't apologize enough because you lived in a time of war... I could and did control some of your actions at the very start of your life and I did so again when the time mattered most to this world. You are its last hope and I would not let you die! I am not evil, but I am no saint either... I will save any world's last hope because during war, that's all anyone has. Hope is brought through when fear is free. Hope makes people want to live on; to fight the fear inside. Hope is the only reason people still believe in us during times of great shame and hurt. It times of-"

"Stop. Please...I want to say something..." The Spirit had no choice but to listen. "First, I forgive you and thank you...but-but...you're the Spirit of War; you're supposed to help the innocent...you're-"

"But aren't the women and children of the Fire Nation innocent? What about the soldiers that don't want to fight you? They fear their family will be killed if they don't, what about them, Avatar?" Aang knew he was right and sighed in defeat.

"Yeah, you're right... they are." Aang looked at the ground, ashamed.

"My mother and father grow apart day by day, but their belief in you and their love for this world is too strong to give up on you. That is why the fate of a...certain Prince was joined with yours today."

"Wait you did that to him?" The Spirit shook his head. "No, I didn't, my mother let it happen. She is not just my mother; she is the mother of everybody that lives in the Fire Nation. She is also a spiritual mother to you Aang; she is your guide while learning the element of Fire and the same applies with my father." The War Spirit smiled at his young friend.

"How could she do that?! That's- Wait...are you my guide?"

"We knew you needed him and She did not cause his injuries. And yes, I am. I will guide you through your decisions throughout this war. I decide who lives and who dies; who loses and who is triumphant through it all. You humans have a saying that we the spirits love, I think it's...hold on, let me think." He pondered for a moment, but then remembered:

_"When we humans go to war with our own, we make a promise to ourselves; we will fight our enemy on the battlefield and hate shall fuel our fire; however, in the afterlife, love and forgiveness shall light our path, showing us that our greatest enemy gave us the greatest gift of all: they gave us the gift of peace and friendship and we shall always live as one... Because we are one. We are the same kind and when we shall fight one another, it also shows that we respect our enemy great enough to face them... but also to forgive them. As they shall forgive us."_

_"_You came up with that, and we shall always remember those words because everyone that enters our world will always find their old enemy and shall repeat those words to one another and we find it so... inspiring."

"Huh, yeah... the Air Nomads told me about that. I found it inspiring too. But why can't people say that now, in the real world? Our world."

"I don't know Avatar and I can't tell you of the victory, because I am too weak to see it; however, I will say this. If you do win, promise me before you leave... That you will say those words; in memory of every man and woman that lost their lives, no matter what side they were on, or what they believed. The people of the Fire Nation believe they are doing the right thing and so do you. Even the great Fire Nation and its entirety would say those words in memory of you and the rest of their enemies. It's sad really." Aang nodded in agreement, but kept his eyes turned towards the ground.

"I will. I promise."

The Spirit of War looked up at the rising sun and decided that their time together had to come to an end. "Well, it is time to say our goodbyes, young Avatar." The Spirit then noticed the worry that had now appeared on Aang's face. "Don't worry, we shall meet again, like the past Avatars if you need me, my mother or my father then we will come to you, my little one... Now go! Your friends need you and so does this fragile world. Good luck!" He smiled and said goodbye.

Within a blink everything went dark and Aang didn't know what to think or even do, but then he started to hear voices. They were sort of comforting at first, but then he started to recognise them. Katara? Sokka...?

"Aang wake up!" This was said over and over again, echoing and repeating in Aang's mind, but it never registered, until he opened his eyes.

His eyes opened slowly, dreamily, as nothing had accord; however, it all came back to him with a bang and Aang bolted upright as it all hit him. If felt as if he had just been smacked into a hard wall.

"Aang!" He shook his head and realized both Katara and Sokka were standing over him. Katara had a concerned look on her face, just like a mother would, but Sokka just looked annoyed. "Aang!"

"Wha-" He just looked around, noticing that he was back at the campsite. "Where is everyone?"

"Hunting. We hid Zuko until they were gone and I have to say Katara actually did a good job. He's all bandaged up and his fever is at a safer level now."

"I will never hear those words come out of your mouth ever again, will I?" Katara asked her brother, but she already knew the answer and wasn't shocked to hear it.

"No. Probably not, but I think we have more pressing matters to deal with here!"

"Yes, we do. Aang."

"What? No-"

"Yes! We couldn't wake him up for over an hour, Sokka at least ask him if he's okay!"

"Fine." Sokka huffed. Then he turned and looked at Aang. "Aang, are you okay?" Aang just nodded.

"Nothing to worry about Katara... really." Katara still looked a little concerned, but she smiled in relief anyway. She was just glad to see that Aang was okay, she cared about him a lot and never wanted to see him hurt or upset.

"Good." She said still smiling at her friend.

All they had to do now was come up with some good excuses. Which seemed like an easy thing at first. How hard could it really be? Well, they were about to find out how hard it actually was to convince the man who was their father.

..."You better set an extra tent and put Zuko in it. He can't stay out here it's too cold. He'll catch his death." Katara ordered.

"What do you mean by that?" Sokka crossed his arms over his chest.

"I mean you can set up an extra tent, while Aang and I will bring him over and I'll make sure he's all ready to go."

"Fine!" Sokka snapped. "Whatever you say..."

Katara just nodded happily, knowing she had been victorious.

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A/N: So, what do you think? I call this one the spiritual chapter. :) Okay, I'm going to take this chance to say something important. This story is based after the Winter Solstice episode. It makes more sense, I guess... because Aang has already spoken with Roku once. Well, please review guys! It really means a lot and I really want to know how I'm doing! :) Umm, I will give your a cookie. No? Huh... worth a shot, I guess.

PS: One last thing. This fic is updated weekly, from Sunday to Monday... it might never be perfect, but I'm going to try and keep it on a weekly theme. But please bear in mind that this has to go to my Beta Reader first. This happens before I publish anything. The chapter will also get longer as the story goes on... as you can see by this chapter. My first chapter was 3,185 words and this chapter is 3,865 words. See? :3

Thank you, and once again I really hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)

Night, night everyone! :)

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	3. Chapter 2: Not Yet Ready

A/N: Hey everyone! So, chapter two, everything seems to be going well so I shall continue forwards with the story. Once again, all the "thank you" messages that have been mentioned in the past author's notes still apply now.

Yeah, thank you guys...

Fire. 火

Second A/N - (17th Sept, 2013): I am so sorry this is so late! I know I said I would try and update on a weekly bases and the message on my profile page said I could update more after the 3rd of this month... I know I said this and I'm sorry that I couldn't keep to my word. I've just stared college! I can't keep up with both that and this story. Sorry. :(

(The message that was on my Profile page has been removed); however, I am going to give you two chapters more next week, just as a "pick me up" because this one went way off with timing. Once again I'm sorry to every person that was waiting for an update. (How many there may be)...

Thanks for your patients and please, I hope you enjoy chapter two. :)

(Due to reasons this chapter could not yet be beta read, but will be replaced with that version later on. I just wanted to get this up and the beta reader understands).

Fire. 火

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Summary: "After an accident Zuko somehow loses his memories and the Avatar and his friends find him injured and confused... and from then on, one lie just turns into another. But will it end up backfiring on them? Rated T, Zutara! Slight AU.

Rated: T.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything from Avatar: the Last Airbender, (the Legend of Aang). It all belongs to the original owners and I make no profit from writing this fanfic.

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"Believing In Lies"  
Author: "Fire's Ashes"

Chapter Two:  
"Not Yet Ready..."

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After Katara finally emerged out of the spare tent, Aang walked up to her. He had questions. In all fairness, they all had questions. But the person that would have more questions than anyone else would be their father... when he got back with the others, that is. They were all going to have questions. Too many questions that the young Avatar and the both of the siblings wouldn't be able to answer.

Because they didn't know the answers...

"Is he awake?" Katara shook her head.

"No Aang, he won't be awake for a while yet. His body still needs to recover and that could take weeks as it is." She sighed sadly at the reality of it all. "The thing is... even if he does wake up, I'm not even sure how he's going to react to us Aang... he might never wake up. Just know this, his body needs time to repair itself; which means once it's healed enough it will wake him up when _it_ thinks he's ready and only then. But still, if he does wake up, his body will take years to return back to working condition, he may never even be "normal" again." Katara stopped. The words she spoke seemed so harsh, however they were true. All painfully true.

"So, let me get this straight..." They both looked at Sokka. "He may never be the same again... like he will always have a limp, for example, right? That kind of thing?" Katara nodded, but still seemed unsure at her brother's questions.

"I also have a question." Aang pointed out. They both looked at him this time. "What are we going to tell your dad and his men? There going to notice the extra tent, you know." Sokka agreed with him but could form no answer to his question... "We could just say that it's morally correct?" Aang said, trying to answer his own question. But Katara looked at him with worried eyes; Sokka just looked... well, shocked.

"No, we can't just say that Aang, I don't think we could say anything that would make up for something like this..." Sokka added. Aang's shoulder just slumped at the comment, knowing that the truth rang in his ears.

"We're not traitors! That's one thing." Katara shouted out. Crossing her arms over her chest.

"What makes you say that?" Aang asked.

"Well... we've helped our enemy." Katara told him.

"Katara that's not betrayal, telling your enemy what you're planning is territory; we've done nothing of the sort..." Sokka simply told his sister.

"You seemed to forget Sokka. Our tribes customs are different to everyone else's. Healing the enemy is-" She didn't finish, when she had just realized what she had done. She had healed their greatest enemy, she was a traitor. He own father would have to kill her... "No, no... no- no!" She stared to cry. Panic filling her voice and mind. She feel to her knees.

"Katara, please, you're not-"

"She's right Aang. I had forgotten about all that! Okay, okay... lets not get so worked up. Katara stop crying... and Aang-" Aang looked at Sokka. "Aang, do me one thing?"

"What?"

"THINK OF SOMETHING!" He shouted.

_This is not like Sokka... or Katara... _Aang was starting to wonder if the Spirit of War was getting involved with all this... it wasn't like Katara to just break down and Sokka defiantly wasn't someone who just freaked out, well not this bad anyway.

"You're over thinking it." Aang tried.

"I'm over thinking it? Our own father will have no choice but to have us killed." Even Sokka was panicking about it all. All though Aang didn't blame him... they had to think of something.

"Look-" Sokka wasn't listening. "Sokka!" Aang said his name a little louder.

"What?" He turned back around.

"I'll just make up some sad story, okay? Saying that the Spirits themselves told me to do it. Okay? Everything is going to be fine... no one is a traitor; and you are both just overthinking it all... we are all very tried and we need some sleep, so... I need you both to pull yourselves together." Aang knelt next to Katara and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "If you're here for me, then I'm going to be here when you need me too." Aang smiled.

Katara just smiled right back.

"Okay. Sokka?" Katara's brother just nodded. Looking a little calmer than he did before.

"You really do have a way with words kid. I'll give you that..." Sokka smiled at the young Avatar and he smiled right back. Everything was going to be okay, Aang just knew it. They just had to work as a team like they always did when it came to the Fire Nation and its soldiers. Sokka wasn't a bender, but he had is trusty boomerang. Katara had her Waterbending and Aang had his Airbender.

They were a team, and they were going to get through this together and Aang would stick up for Katara. He also knew Sokka would as well, even though he didn't want to disappoint his dad... however, if he knew it was the right thing to do, he would stick up for his little sister. Like he always did if and when he needed too.

Both of the boys knew the men would give Katara the hardest of it all, all due to the fact that she was a girl. But Sokka had assured both of them that he had her back. Because he owed her one... she had got two fishhooks out of his hand and it was better than going to their grandmother... so, in his mind he would return the favour, but only if he had too.

Aang told Katara to go check on the Prince; while Aang told Sokka about his little story... which due to the fact that he wasn't supposed to tell anyone, it was only half true. Which he had already told both the Water Tribe siblings. They were both fine with it, but only if it would be believable.

"Right Aang. They're going to notice the extra tent is up pretty quickly. So you're going to have to act fast with this one, alright? I'm here to back you up and so is Katara if you need her, but just get straight to the point and don't let them get a word in before you're finished. Don't get me wrong... I love my dad dearly but I guess we've got no choice in this so lets go over what you're going to say. Go!" He pointed to Aang, which meant he had to start.

Aang nodded. "Umm... right." He thought for a second. "I got it." Sokka smiled nodding fast. "The Spirits have told me that we need him and that we have got no say in this decision. However, I know you might be upset by this, but it's what the world needs and the Spirits have gone to great lengths to make it happen." Aang shrugged. "So, it's got to happen." He stopped. "What do you think? Short and right to the point, like you said."

"Yeah, it's good, but-"

"It's fine Sokka leave it. Aang did a great job thinking of that." Katara smiled.

"Katara... I didn't think of that. That's the truth." Both the siblings looked at him in disbelieve.

"Really? So... the Spirits want us to help him? Man, they must be desperate." Aang nodded at Sokka's unneeded comment.

"They are. That's why this has happened. But I'm only going to tell your dad half of that. You two are the only ones who know the truth and I kind of want to keep it that way."

"Why?" Sokka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I trust you and you... you kind of needed to know really, am I right?"

"Yeah Aang, you're right, don't worry. It's all safe with us, right Sokka?"

"Yeah, yeah... it's safe. Don't worry. Now is there any food left in that bag?! I'm starving! I haven't eaten in twelve hours!" Sokka moaned. Katara and Aang just rolled their eyes at this. He couldn't even go a day without moaning about food, could he?

"It's only been seven hours and no, there's not. We need to go to market." Sokka moaned even louder. He needed food and he needed it now!

"Maybe your dad will come back with something?"

"I doubt that Aang. He's kind of out of his element here..." Sokka just let himself fall onto his sleeping bag. "Besides is there even a market on this island?"

"No Sokka. You're just going to have to wait until we get to the next island aren't you." Katas told him.

"No..." Sokka cried over dramatically. He needed food now and he was heartbroken knowing he wasn't going to get any for at least another day.

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"I don't see anything, are you sure you saw something?" Jee asked.

"Yes, of course I'm sure..." The young solider responded. "I'm not lying, you know!" He half shouted.

"I know you're not. But where did you see... this thing then?"

"Over there." He pointed out to sea. "There was this movement in the water." The young man put his arm down when he saw Iroh approaching them. When he had reached them, the young solider bowed in respect to the retired general. "Sir. Are you alright today?" He asked smiling.

"A little better. I still miss him though." Iroh eyes levelled to the ground and Jee didn't know what to say. However, the young solider surprised them both by saying something that not many people would. He offered to make Iroh some of his favourite tea. Which of course Iroh couldn't stand down, so the young man went off to do what he had to do. He didn't want to let the retired general down... more out of kindness than duty.

"He's a good boy." Iroh stated. Jee just nodded at the comment. "He's going to make a fine commander someday. Maybe even a general? You never know." Iroh smiled for the first time in days. Which of course made the Lieutenant smile. He didn't like seeing the old man upset and would do anything to see him happy again. The whole crew would have. It was just a shame that most of them weren't here anymore.

Most of them had died in the attack and none of them had deserved it...

"So I guess this means you haven't told him then. About his... brother?"

"No Jee. I haven't. Have you?"

"No. It would break his heart in two."

"Do you think he's noticed?" Iroh asked. Looking in the direction that he had walked away.

"Well if he has, he's putting on a very brave face... and if he does find out any other way than from you. I don't think he would be able to take it to be honest, Sir. He's already lost everything. I mean what did you tell him anyway?"

"I know. But you'll look after him won't you?" Jee nodded still looking at Iroh. "Oh. Yes, I told him that he had... been transferred."

"Maybe that wasn't the best move Sir. But of course I'll look after him. But Zuko always did it better than anyone else here. That boy looked up to him and now with him gone... it's going to be hard to... well, you know? Tell him these kinds of things now..." Iroh just nodded in agreement once again.

"We'll find him Jee, I'm sure of it." The Lieutenant tired his best to put another smile on his face. But it was proving to get harder as each day went by. He actually missed the young Prince, he was the only one who could ever keep this crew in line, or what was left of it anyway. However, he had also been a good commander to them all, personally. He looked after them and always managed to keep one step ahead of Zhao to keep them safe.

Zuko's men were originally going to be used by the Fire Nation as "live bait"; and he had saved them from that. Earning a scar and a banishment in the process. Which caused some of the young men to feel very guilty at first, but as time when by, they recovered from this. Besides, when they joined his crew they hadn't even finished their training... most of them had just come out of their teens... they were still too young to go on a Fire Nation battle ship. It would have been against the law. However, due to the circumstances at the time, it suddenly wasn't against the law. But I guess it was also fair to say that they were also too young to face fully trained Earthbenders. Either way they weren't going to win and I think most of them preferred life on a ship than they did dead in the ground.

He had save them and they were very loyal in return. Jee on the other hand wasn't part of their regiment and was just assigned to the ship to help keep things in order. But as time went by, Jee didn't even understand why the Fire Nation thought Zuko would need help keeping men nearly ten years older than himself in line. He did just fine on his own. Or maybe it was just his temper... Jee didn't know, but he still did a fine job at it either way.

But, never the less, he had never truly wronged any of the older member of his original crew; so most of them were actually quite saddened by his... passing. No. Jee shook his head. He wasn't dead. He was just missing, that's all. They were saddened by his disappearance... that's right. Disappearance? Jee knew he was most likely dead, but he couldn't bring himself to think something like that around Iroh; it just didn't feel right. It was like Jee thought Iroh could read him mind. He knew he couldn't, but he just felt bad thinking about it.

Jee was cut from his thoughts when he heard Iroh's name being called. He turned to see the youngest solider holding up a tray and then he saw Iroh's smile. Tea. It never got old. Huh, maybe he would leave it just another day. Two at the most... the boy seemed too happy at the moment and he was going a great job of keeping Iroh happy. Agni only knows how he survived the attack. But the Lieutenant was glad he did.

The Lieutenant smiled and turned back around so he could kept his eyes on the sea. To see if this thing the young solider had seen was actually real. But he had most likely just made it up, he did it quite often that one. Kids...

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When Sokka and Katara's father finally returned with his men. It wasn't as bad as they all thought it would be. No one mentioned the extra tent, but all three of them knew that Hakoda had to be told, otherwise, things might turn a bit pear shaped later on...

"Err dad?" Sokka walked up to him.

Hakoda just looked up at his son, but did not smile. He had a good reason not too.

"Where did you three go last night? I went looking for you!" He stood up while asking and Sokka turned to Aang for support.

"Well dad, that's what we wanted to talk to you about, right Aang?" The boy just nodded and looked at Sokka's father.

"Really? What about it?" He asked crossing his arms over his chest. He wasn't happy and this made the whole situation a lot harder to handle. Well, for Sokka and Katara anyway. Aang however, looked a little more confident and stepped forward offering to take most of the burden of telling him.

"Your daughter, Katara... did a very good thing yesterday. She saved someone's life and she might have just saved millions in the progress. His- the man she saved might just be the very man that will help me end this war for good." Aang hadn't finished... "and of course, Sokka helped too." He turned to the older sibling smiling.

Hakoda looked at his daughter.

"Who?" Hakoda asked.

"Umm, well... you see, the thing is- he may just be..." Aang gulped suddenly feeling nervous. But soon sighed and decided that there was no point on holding back; not anymore. "He was- he is the Prince of the Fire Nation. Prince Zuko and yes, before you say anything, this is not their fault. The Spirits did it to help me, help us in winning this war... nothing more. Katara and Sokka just, umm... they just preformed the actions that the Water Spirit wanted them too." Aang could see that Hakoda was in shock. He probably couldn't believe what he was hearing. His men didn't look too impressed either. But they were going to have to listen to the rest before making any kind of judgement. "I know this may be hard for you to understand and we will understand if you are angry-"

"Angry is an under statement Avatar!" One of Hakoda's men shouted.

"Please just listen to me, it's the will of the Spirits. You need to understand that-" Aang tried again, but Hakoda's men interrupted him once again.

"We don't have to listen to a child!" Another spat.

"Stop!" Katara shouted. "Don't talk to Aang like that, you have no-"

"You need to be quite! Don't speak!" Someone else shouted.

"Dad... please..." Sokka tired himself to reason with his father; but failed.

"Stop all of you! We need to hear-" Hakoda tried to reason with his men. But it failed.

"They all helped the enemy!" One of the others shouted. Aang sighed; shaking his head sadly.

"Their right Avatar... and what Spirit would tell you to help an man who is from the worst Nation that ever existed?" Hakoda told him.

But Aang wasn't having that and shook his head sadly again. "You wouldn't of said that two hundred years ago when the Fire Nation saved the Southern Water from that horrible blizzard, would you?" Aang replied.

"Ha! That was then, this is now! They started a war and not just any war; a war that has lasted over a hundred years Avatar!" Hakoda shouted. "Have you forgotten that? No, you probably won't you ran away from all that didn't you? You-"

"No he didn't, Aang wouldn't do that! Would you Aang?" Katara snapped at her father. She didn't want too, but she would stick up for Aang if she had too. She wasn't going to let him face this alone.

"Katara please, leave it..." Aang told her.

"No Aang I won't, this isn't fair!" Katara told him back.

"No, it's not. I know, but-"

"We don't care if it isn't fair; we only care if it's the truth!" Hakoda once again sighed as another one of his men shouted at the child Avatar. Hakoda of course felt for the young boy, he was so young and he had so much on his shoulders already. But even though it hurt him to say it, especially in front of his children, he had to say it, for his reputation... he had to do it, and it had to be said in front of his men.

It was the only way that there could be any conclusion to this. He would do his very best to stop the insults and everything else his men could throw at the Airbender. But there was no way he could make any promises... to anyone. But even Hakoda knew that before he could even say a word, he had to speak with his children about this whole mess and see what they- Katara had actually done...

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_See, you will always be alone... no mummy or daddy... no one will ever-_

"No!" Zuko's eyes shot open. To him his shout was as loud as the screaming in his ears. But he was mistaken, it was only was quite as a whisper. Nothing more. He hadn't noticed that his breathing was still laboured, but he knew his body was still consumed with pain. Only the Spirit's would know how he was awake... he shouldn't be; he should be long gone... The nightmares should still plague his mind. A fever should still keep him deep in his sleep...

Agni only knows how he was awake... now of all times...

Zuko tried to move, but fails. He wants to scream out, the pain is too much. He just closes his eyes. Trying to block the pain out and somehow it seems to work. The pain dims just enough to stop an outburst.

He doesn't even take notice of where he might be, he seems to forget to check.

_It's just_ a nightmare. _It's nothing. It will vanish..._

But this nightmare seems so real. Zuko tries to move his left hand upwards, so he could try and lift himself up; however, it's stiff and will not obey his mind. He feels tried after such an effort. It's not like him to feel so weak; so out of place. Zuko starts to drift away again. Agni is pulling him back. His Goddess carries a guilty heart, he hears its beat. It's like a lullaby... to him it sounds familiar... but after a moment of tiredness sweeps over him, he forgets it, all of it...

He sleeps deeply once again.

He just lets it all drift away.

_"Never forget who your are..." _The woman's voice just fades away, as dose he and his memories.

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A/N: The last bit might have sounded a little confusing now, but don't you worry. It will all make sense in the next couple of chapter. These will be up by next week! I hope.

I hope you liked it, if any of you would like me to explain "Zuko's scene" in a little more detail (*without any spoilers included*), just let me know through PM, or review.

Thanks again!

P.S: Chapter One's title has been changed. Old: "The Prince Is..." - New: "The Spirit Of War".

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